“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” – so opens the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The contemporary human rights framework is premised on notions of equality, liberty and dignity, on the idea that we hold basic rights because we are human beings. Yet the universality of human rights also rests on the premise that everyone enjoys a nationality (as laid down, as a right in the UDHR and recognised under every other major human rights instrument). The human rights system recognises that states may reserve some rights for their citizens – such as the right to participate in government – placing these out of reach for stateless people. So until statelessness is eradicated, the fundamental aspiration of universal human rights remains just that, an aspiration. Moreover, in practice, statelessness is a proven barrier to the ability to exercise a wide range of other rights. Far greater effort is needed to ensure that these barriers are overcome and stateless people have access to the protection of national and international human rights law. So, if human rights matter, statelessness matters. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion The World's Stateless Report Wolf Legal Publishers 2014 Cover photo © UN Photo/Elma Okic, 2017 The UN Human Rights Council at the Palais des Nations, Geneva This booklet was written by Laura van Waas and Ileen Verbeek, with input from Amal de Chickera. It draws on research conducted by Mandy Olieslagers, Suzi Rostomyan, Michiel Hoornick and Hannah Kim in spring 2017, with financial support from Tilburg Municipality’s Wereld te Winnen programme. Design and layout by Shantanu Majumder. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, 2017 info@institutesi.org www.institutesi.org